One of the interesting wrinkles in the contract negotiations between defencemen Justin Schultz and Jeff Petry was that the players had the right to take the team to arbitration, a right that had to be exercised by 5:00 PM New York time on July 5 if a hearing was to take place.

In an interesting bit of non-news, neither player was among the 20 listed by the NHLPA as filing for arbitration.

The List

Fully half of the league’s 30 teams now face the prospect of an arbitration hearing if they are unable to reach an agreement with their free agent(s) beforehand. The full list via the NHLPA can be found here, and there are some interesting names on it.

Montreal has an interesting summer ahead. P.K. Subban, as expected, exercised his right to arbitration, but he was joined by Lars Eller, the 25-year old who was so good in 2012-13 and during the playoffs for the Habs.

New York had three different players elect, and all three are key forwards: Chris Kreider, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. Toronto will have to deal with both Cody Franson and James Reimer, a duo that have been frequently mentioned in trade rumours over the last few months.

Alberta’s other team also has an interesting hearing coming up. 24-year-old Joe Colborne, a 6’5” centre, scored 28 points in his rookie NHL season in Calgary and now will elect for arbitration.

Reading the Tea Leaves

The decision by both players to pass on arbitration can be spun in any manner of ways, but the simplest is this: the team and the players are pretty much on the same page.

Petry in particular is interesting because he’s only a year from unrestricted free agency. If his camp had really wanted to play hardball, electing for salary arbitration would have been a great way to make sure that he both got paid and was free to test the market next summer. As Bruce McCurdy put in his take on the subject:

[Petry] held the “arbitration hammer” in what we can only presume are ongoing negotiations. That he chose not to exercise it may be a tell that things are close to a decision point. That could be an extension, or it could be a trade.

Possibly of interest is a comment from general manager Craig MacTavish on Jason Gregor’s show in mid-June, where he said the Oilers “fully anticipate” signing the defenceman to a new contact.

Schultz is less surprising, simply because of the many things Craig MacTavish has said about him in the past. For example, he was asked whether he’d prefer to sign Schultz to a bridge contract or a long-term deal at his end-of-season press availability and offered the following:

I’m open to both. It’ll be dependent on really what Justin wants to do. I think I’ve been clear all along on the upside that I see from Justin Schultz. He’s a developing player. He’s just completed his first NHL season, his upside is limitless. So I have a lot of confidence and would have the confidence to extend Justin on a long-term deal. When I analyze the deals that we’ve extended to some of the other players, some of the other long-term deals. I don’t think – I mean, the argument against a long-term deal for a young player is that it takes away their motivation, but I can’t say that any of those long-term deals has dissuaded any of those individuals from aspiring to be as good as they can be.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if in both of these cases the Oilers and the players involved have pretty decent communication and aren’t worried about arbitration. There are other possible interpretations, but Schultz and Petry opting to pass on the chance to get a second opinion on their value is probably good news for the team.

Jonathan Willis is a freelance writer.
He currently works for Oilers Nation, Sportsnet and Bleacher Report.
He's co-written three books and worked for myriad websites, including the Edmonton Journal, Grantland, ESPN, The Score, and Hockey Prospectus. He was previously the founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue.

Both of these guys are going to want more money, and are going to get more money, than arbitration would give them.

An arbitrator will give you a league-wide average salary for comparable RFA players.

Which means they won't get the "Alberta Advantage", where the Oilers pay you vastly over the market rate because they are stone cold desperate.

And if the Oilers don't back up the Brinks truck to your door, you can't hold out if you've gone to arbitration.

Now I know, I know, you're thinking to yourself "There's no way Justin Schultz would screw over the club that holds his contract rights like that. He's just not that kind of guy."

But the simple fact is that if either guy holds out, the Oilers would cave and cave HARD. They are going to suck badly, playoff hopes will be dim by November, pressure will be high, the club will be starving for NHL level talent, and these guys will be sitting there with their skates on and wallets open.

Arbitration that gives them the same salary that comparable players are getting on other teams is the last thing either of these guys wants, when they have every reason to expect to be paid considerably more.

Excellent point well argued.

Arbitration is the last thing any oiler should do as there is no mechanism in the directions to the arbitrator to account for the worst location in the nhl both geographically and - arguably - team management.

Holding out when the time comes is much more effective.

And spinning the declining to go to arb as being a good thing is naive pollyannism.

"An aging Detroit club that needs to rebuild" would be a pretty accurate description of the team from the late 1990's on.

They've stayed the course. It's worked well for them. I'd expect more of the same.

From the late nineties on they had a defenseman by the name of lidstrom...

Without him they have been exposed and need to rebuild/retool.

Datsuyk would be an interesting player to put to market but I suspect the organization would only trade him if he asked to be and I doubt very much the oilers would be one of his choices unless he's homesick for Siberian-type weather.

Congratulations, the list will be up dated soon!
Wow looking at the list... I maybe out numbered? Maybe my Grand daddy was right when he said "the dullards are out breeding us son, it's only a matter of time"...

Jeff has done well for himself in the early part of his career. He's one season away from calling his own shots from now on, and he's American.

Send him home while the Oilers still have some control over him. Petry++ for Sean Couturier, and let's get this party started here in Edmonton.

Did Jeff marry and Edmonton girl, or a girl from back home?

Interesting observation. I'm certainly not a fan of his play so far - and even though he's only played a couple seasons in the NHL he's quite a bit older and unlikely to get the kind of delta that a younger player would in the next couple years.

Dealing him now should definitely be considered but I highly doubt the close-minded management of this team has seriously discussed it even once.

Both of these guys are going to want more money, and are going to get more money, than arbitration would give them.

An arbitrator will give you a league-wide average salary for comparable RFA players.

Which means they won't get the "Alberta Advantage", where the Oilers pay you vastly over the market rate because they are stone cold desperate.

And if the Oilers don't back up the Brinks truck to your door, you can't hold out if you've gone to arbitration.

Now I know, I know, you're thinking to yourself "There's no way Justin Schultz would screw over the club that holds his contract rights like that. He's just not that kind of guy."

But the simple fact is that if either guy holds out, the Oilers would cave and cave HARD. They are going to suck badly, playoff hopes will be dim by November, pressure will be high, the club will be starving for NHL level talent, and these guys will be sitting there with their skates on and wallets open.

Arbitration that gives them the same salary that comparable players are getting on other teams is the last thing either of these guys wants, when they have every reason to expect to be paid considerably more.

Good grief, talk of hold outs is nothing but baseless gossip fitting the Enquirer or TMZ.

You are correct though that an arbitrator would decide based on comparable RFA players.

And the comparables don't really favor Schultz or Petry. Whether you look at a bridge contract like Subban's or longer extensions like Josi and Hedman there isn't a lot of wiggle room.

As Mr. Kadri found out last year teams hold the hammer with RFA's and if you go to arbitration it isn't a pleasant process for the players.

I suspect Schultz and Petry opted to forgo arbitration to avoid seeing clips of cross ice passes being intercepted and Blake Wheeler overpowering Petry to win the game in OT on continuous loop compared to setting themselves up to hold out.

It's not about "what's he worth", it's about "what's he worth to the Oilers?"

You say he's worth $2.5m-ish.

OK, well let's say he holds out, or demands a trade or something.

Can the Oilers replace him for $2.5m?

Not. A. Hope. It cost the Oilers $4.5m to replace Nick Schultz... by signing the guy who lost his spot to Nick Schultz.

Arbitration might say he's worth $2.5m but there's no way the Oilers could replace him at that price, so he's clearly worth much more than that to this club. Arbitration would give him what he's worth in the league, but negotiation will give him what he's worth to Edmonton. And last time I checked I think he was leading the team in minutes.

Agreed. The sad, grim reality is that the teams management has such a stench of incompetence - and track record of having players underperform that in addition to their being a location charge to be paid there is also a management charge.

If management was significantly above average with an excellent track record not only would there be no management charge the location charge would be waived - players could conceivably play for less than they could get elsewhere.

Does anyone think the clowns running the oil currently will ever earn that kind of reputation?

Interesting observation. I'm certainly not a fan of his play so far - and even though he's only played a couple seasons in the NHL he's quite a bit older and unlikely to get the kind of delta that a younger player would in the next couple years.

Dealing him now should definitely be considered but I highly doubt the close-minded management of this team has seriously discussed it even once.

You doubt Oiler management has discussed trading Petry even once despite there being nothing but rumors that the Oilers will trade Petry over the last week.

Good grief, talk of hold outs is nothing but baseless gossip fitting the Enquirer or TMZ.

You are correct though that an arbitrator would decide based on comparable RFA players.

And the comparables don't really favor Schultz or Petry. Whether you look at a bridge contract like Subban's or longer extensions like Josi and Hedman there isn't a lot of wiggle room.

As Mr. Kadri found out last year teams hold the hammer with RFA's and if you go to arbitration it isn't a pleasant process for the players.

I suspect Schultz and Petry opted to forgo arbitration to avoid seeing clips of cross ice passes being intercepted and Blake Wheeler overpowering Petry to win the game in OT on continuous loop compared to setting themselves up to hold out.

At least they won't get Deryk Engelland money. Now there is a beaut.

Justin Schultz made almost 4 million per year the last 2 seasons and is the Oilers top scoring defenseman. He's going to take a 1 million dollar cut so he's not making Deryk Engelland money? Will be interesting to see what happens with Petry who is 1 year away from being an ufa.

Im glad someone posted this. I am a Schultz fan but hes done next to nothing in the NHL to warrant a 3+mil per year contract. At this point all he has is potential. All Oilers fans can remember the terrible defensive zone play on almost a nightly basis. Why are people giving this guy 3-4+ million for 100 years?

Just take a quick look at Subbans numbers after his 3rd season. Schultz wasnt even close to that kind of production. Subban got 2.5 then 3.75 or something close to that. Schultz shouldnt get a dime more than subbans bridge deal and in all reality im thinking 2mil then 2.75 for 2 years.

Get a grip if you think schultz is worth more

If the Oilers want to buy up some FA years on Schultz on a 6-7 year contract, they're going to have to pony up now close to $5 million a season.

Schultz, 23, 2 seasons, 112 GP, 55 pts, 0.49 pts/gm

Subban after ELC, 23, 3 seasons, 160 GP, 76 points, 0.48 pts/gm

Subban got a 2 year deal worth $5.75 million, $2.85 million AAV. That's a not bad comparable at the time and what I expect a short term deal to look like.

Good grief, talk of hold outs is nothing but baseless gossip fitting the Enquirer or TMZ.

You are correct though that an arbitrator would decide based on comparable RFA players.

And the comparables don't really favor Schultz or Petry. Whether you look at a bridge contract like Subban's or longer extensions like Josi and Hedman there isn't a lot of wiggle room.

As Mr. Kadri found out last year teams hold the hammer with RFA's and if you go to arbitration it isn't a pleasant process for the players.

I suspect Schultz and Petry opted to forgo arbitration to avoid seeing clips of cross ice passes being intercepted and Blake Wheeler overpowering Petry to win the game in OT on continuous loop compared to setting themselves up to hold out.

At least they won't get Deryk Engelland money. Now there is a beaut.

You start with a "good grief", and then go on to repeat exactly what I said.

That both of these guys will get paid more outside of arbitration than they would if they filed for an impartial judgement of their worth.

Which means that them avoiding arbitration means nothing.

I'm not saying these guys are planning on holding out. I was illustrating that even if they are planning on playing the hardest of hardball (and they do have the leverage to do it IMO), there is no scenario where it's in their interest to apply for arbitration.

And you think neither of these guys is going to get Derek Engelland money?

Gm's probably get calls on all players of note including Hall, Eberle , Hopkins, etc.. Good input in how the marketplace might be for each player . We did it even with Gretsky , so lets not be naïve and think Petry and Schultz have not been inquired about .

If Marincin , Klefbom and Nurse are pushing now , and maybe Oilers are going to get another defenceman in Coburn and/or Boychuk , then there would be a good chance Petry could be moved incurring no damage overall .

Agreed. The sad, grim reality is that the teams management has such a stench of incompetence - and track record of having players underperform that in addition to their being a location charge to be paid there is also a management charge.

If management was significantly above average with an excellent track record not only would there be no management charge the location charge would be waived - players could conceivably play for less than they could get elsewhere.

Does anyone think the clowns running the oil currently will ever earn that kind of reputation?

What?! Do you honestly believe the constant whiny bullshjt you write on here? You think players get more money based on who the manager is? Management charge?!

It's not about "what's he worth", it's about "what's he worth to the Oilers?"

You say he's worth $2.5m-ish.

OK, well let's say he holds out, or demands a trade or something.

Can the Oilers replace him for $2.5m?

Not. A. Hope. It cost the Oilers $4.5m to replace Nick Schultz... by signing the guy who lost his spot to Nick Schultz.

Arbitration might say he's worth $2.5m but there's no way the Oilers could replace him at that price, so he's clearly worth much more than that to this club. Arbitration would give him what he's worth in the league, but negotiation will give him what he's worth to Edmonton. And last time I checked I think he was leading the team in minutes.

If we are talking about a bridge deal Schultz will not get more than 3 mil per season whether its 2 or 3 years. Which works out best for Schultz and the team.

SLYERS: I like your I.D.I.O.T.S list. Please could you add all those who make it a point of correcting grammar and spelling etc. Perhaps these people don't understand that many people have English as their 2nd language, they may be dyslexic, or have other learning disabilities. They may also be poorly educated through no fault of their own. This website is for personal opinions regarding the Oilers NOT a forum for wanna-be school teachers berating people for things that may not be their faults.

I started an account on here for one reason. I'm ahuge oilers fan and am soooo tired of all the supposed fans!!!

I agree we have been terrible for years, but if your a fan show some faith!! Mac T has this, cause you all know you"ll be right back on the were the best team ever. For ---- sakes these people i speak of sound like dirty canauck fans @!! Trust me I'm form B.C!!!

Please cite the case where I have put forth an opinion where I did not provide reasons or foundation.

Sure, if you can show me one case in which you showed any balance to your pompous tirades. As for DSF I think he might be looking up "pollyannism" from your post.... Could take him awhile. Do you see the irony in you complaining about the arrogance of Oiler management, and you're "style" of posts and calls to the talk shows? Here's a clue, look at how many trashes you get, but you probably believe it is because you are just smarter than everyone else....oooooh the irony!

SLYERS: I like your I.D.I.O.T.S list. Please could you add all those who make it a point of correcting grammar and spelling etc. Perhaps these people don't understand that many people have English as their 2nd language, they may be dyslexic, or have other learning disabilities. They may also be poorly educated through no fault of their own. This website is for personal opinions regarding the Oilers NOT a forum for wanna-be school teachers berating people for things that may not be their faults.

Funny, Serious Gord, how you criticize everyone who makes a mistake on this website, you slam everyone else's opinion, and think that no-one else is right except you. Well, my friend. PollyANNAism is probably the correct spelling for what you meant, even though it's not a word in the dictionary. Back to school for you.

Check out capgeek.com his base salary was 925k. If he hit his bonuses he was entitled to another 2mil+

His real money earned was 3.775 a year. I think his agent will push for 4+ That will barely put him in the top 60. Also, he puts up offense and offense gets paid. I have a feeling the oilers won't play hardball with him as he was the first major free agent in a long time to choose the oil. They may wish to keep that goodwill going to show other players how well they treat their free agents. I may be way off but that is my feeling

SLYERS: I like your I.D.I.O.T.S list. Please could you add all those who make it a point of correcting grammar and spelling etc. Perhaps these people don't understand that many people have English as their 2nd language, they may be dyslexic, or have other learning disabilities. They may also be poorly educated through no fault of their own. This website is for personal opinions regarding the Oilers NOT a forum for wanna-be school teachers berating people for things that may not be their faults.

Well, seems like a whole stack of Oilers' fans have no respect for anyone whose English isn't perfect. Bummer.

His real money earned was 3.775 a year. I think his agent will push for 4+ That will barely put him in the top 60. Also, he puts up offense and offense gets paid. I have a feeling the oilers won't play hardball with him as he was the first major free agent in a long time to choose the oil. They may wish to keep that goodwill going to show other players how well they treat their free agents. I may be way off but that is my feeling

Real money and base salary are two completely different things. His base salary was 925k hes not going to get more than a 400% increase.

Theres no way Schultz deserves 4+ per year. He'll get a 2/3 year deal worth 2.5-3 per year

Sure, if you can show me one case in which you showed any balance to your pompous tirades. As for DSF I think he might be looking up "pollyannism" from your post.... Could take him awhile. Do you see the irony in you complaining about the arrogance of Oiler management, and you're "style" of posts and calls to the talk shows? Here's a clue, look at how many trashes you get, but you probably believe it is because you are just smarter than everyone else....oooooh the irony!

Changing your argument mid-stream. Because you have no grounds to make it. (As I suspected)

I absolutely have bias. So do you. I make no attempt to be balanced sometimes (I do on other occasions as any one who has heard me on stauffer et al shows can attest - but in a conversational situation that is much more likely because their is an immediate back and forth and taking one'a adversaries objections into account can be a very effective way of dulling the strength of their position and getting sympathy for yours.

In the blogging word, this oftentimes is less effective in my experience as there are others on both sides usually participating.

And as for the numbers of for/against - it is entirely understandable that I would get more negatives than positives - this is an oilers fan website after all - go look up the definition of fan. And it doesn't bother me in the least.

Funny, Serious Gord, how you criticize everyone who makes a mistake on this website, you slam everyone else's opinion, and think that no-one else is right except you. Well, my friend. PollyANNAism is probably the correct spelling for what you meant, even though it's not a word in the dictionary. Back to school for you.

Ha!! Spurred you to look it up. I'm well aware it is not a word per se but today's world is the world of lmao etc. and I'm from newfoundland where creating new words is not a sin.

And I don't think I criticize people on this site very often at all. I criticize what they say/argue, but that is a very different thing.

His real money earned was 3.775 a year. I think his agent will push for 4+ That will barely put him in the top 60. Also, he puts up offense and offense gets paid. I have a feeling the oilers won't play hardball with him as he was the first major free agent in a long time to choose the oil. They may wish to keep that goodwill going to show other players how well they treat their free agents. I may be way off but that is my feeling

I think that the loyalty that management has to him because he chose to play for the oil is a major driver of them keeping him here. That loyalty is not unlike what they showed to gagner b signing him to a big contract with a NTC last summer.

Changing your argument mid-stream. Because you have no grounds to make it. (As I suspected)

I absolutely have bias. So do you. I make no attempt to be balanced sometimes (I do on other occasions as any one who has heard me on stauffer et al shows can attest - but in a conversational situation that is much more likely because their is an immediate back and forth and taking one'a adversaries objections into account can be a very effective way of dulling the strength of their position and getting sympathy for yours.

In the blogging word, this oftentimes is less effective in my experience as there are others on both sides usually participating.

And as for the numbers of for/against - it is entirely understandable that I would get more negatives than positives - this is an oilers fan website after all - go look up the definition of fan. And it doesn't bother me in the least.

(Thanks for reading/responding)

Because I refused to jump through your hoops, looking up your old post to prove a point that most readers hear have already shown, through the trashing of your posts, means I am loosing a argument? Ok Winchester...look I am an educated person, but I must admit I had to re read your post a few times because after the first sentence it became. Blah blah blah. But if you do require proof of your un relenting unbalance approach, In one of your previous post instead of giving credit for a good move by management, you said " even a broken clock gets it right a couple of times." It is logical to disagree with the Oil management group, they have brought a lot of that on themselves. However, you will attack everything, you have lost all objectivity which therefore turns your opinions into nothing more than a bitch fest. You are right this is a " Fan" website so if you are not going to be a "fan" of at least some of the moves, some of the times, then might I suggest a different site, or starting your own site. You could call it. Thoughts by Serious Gord & why I am smarter than You!

P.s if you once said " stellar move today by the Oil" then people would be more willing to listen when you did want to rip them for a bad move.

All these kids going from the classroom, to their moms basement to let us all know first hand, how awesome they are.

Just imagine how bad it would be if these I.D.I.O.T.S (Slayer type kids) were old enough to buy their own drink.

First, thanks for the compliment of thinking I am young. Let's just say I am old enough to have witnessed the glory years. Second you need to read a little more carefully starting with my name, and then try to follow the point....disagreeing with the Oilers is logical considering some of the ridiculous decisions made, however try once in awhile to show some objectivity, and look at each decision with a fresh prospective. You might have some more fun in life, ....or just keep pissing all over everything if that's your thing ...WOW!

Schultz has been about the money since he dissed Anaheim to go to Edmonton.

Think about it. He had a choice of almost any team, and instead of working his way up on a team with defensive depth and becoming an all-around player he chose the team that could give him PP time right away. PP time = points = money. He knew that the Oilers put him a situation where he could reach all the bonuses on his rookie contract. Other teams could not guarantee that playing time in the NHL, but arguably would have been better for his career development.

Schultz will want the defenseman version of the Hall/Nuge/Eberle contract.

Given the money that less talented UFA d-men receive on the open market and Schultz's contract history, I don't see him giving up that UFA opportunity that will be his in 4 years unless he is heavily compensated.

If he signs a series of one-year deals, he can keep the pressure on the Oilers every off-season, and take a swing for that 7 year/$6M per deal every year.

Even with the Oilers depth of defense prospects, they have no one in the system who profiles as the heir apparent to take over the point on the powerplay from Schultz. Years of picking up points from riding shotgun with Hall, Ebs, and Nuge on the powerplay is going to pay off big for Schultz.